2017 -- S 0697

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LC002294

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

HONORING AND THANKING THE HONORABLE M. TERESA PAIVA WEED FOR HER

STALWART AND PASSIONATE SERVICE TO THE PEOPLE OF RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, Goodwin, McCaffrey, Algiere, and DiPalma

     Date Introduced: March 30, 2017

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to our colleague, our President,

and our good friend, the Honorable M. Teresa Paiva Weed, who is leaving the Rhode Island

Senate, District 13, after more than twenty-four years of devoted service to her constituents in

Newport and Jamestown, and the citizens of the State of Rhode Island; and

     WHEREAS, With a working-class background, the Honorable M. Teresa Paiva Weed is

truly reflective of her constituency in Newport, her hometown and a city she loves deeply and

represented with great vigor as not only their Senator, but moreover as Newport's Ambassador.

Her strong environmental advocacy had its roots in her representation of the Town of Jamestown

on beautiful Conanicut Island, and in her pride for the great state park known as Fort Adams, a

place that the Senate soon learned more than they ever thought or could have hoped to know; and

     WHEREAS, Senator M. Teresa Paiva Weed was first elected to the Rhode Island Senate

in November of 1992. From 1997 through 2000, she served as the Senate's first woman

chairperson of the Judiciary Committee, and from 2000 to 2002, she served as deputy chair of the

Finance Subcommittee on Public Safety and the Environment. In 2002 through 2004, she served

as vice chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee and from January 2004 until 2008, she

served as Rhode Island's first woman Senate Majority Leader, a position she held for five years;

and

     WHEREAS, Thoroughly earning the unqualified admiration and respect of her

colleagues, Senator M. Teresa Paiva Weed was elected to serve as President of the Senate in

January of 2009, the first woman in Rhode Island's history to serve in this capacity, and a position

that was conferred upon her four more times, and while she gained a lot of attention for shattering

the glass ceiling as the first woman to hold this and many previous Senate posts, her rise in

stature was also acclaimed by the Portuguese community in the state, who were so very proud of

her Portuguese heritage; and

     WHEREAS, During her tenure in the Senate, President M. Teresa Paiva Weed has been

an exemplary role model and a tireless advocate for women in public service. She has

spearheaded efforts to reform the Rhode Island welfare system, was instrumental in the passage

of legislation that changed the manner in which judges are selected to a merit-based process, and

won passage of many landmark bills, such as the property tax cap and legislation restructuring the

Victim's Compensation Fund; and

     WHEREAS, As President of the Senate, the Honorable M. Teresa Paiva Weed focused

on education as a fundamental driver of our state's economic development, including winning

enactment of legislation to repair crumbling schools, provide funding for full-day kindergarten

for all communities in the state, championing a legislative action plan known as "Rhode to Work"

to better equip students and the Rhode Island workforce with the skills needed for success in

today's economy, and working with the state's public colleges and university to lay the foundation

for a funding formula for state aid to higher education; and

     WHEREAS, In addition to education priorities, President M. Teresa Paiva Weed has

helped to enact legislation intended to improve Rhode Island's economic competitiveness

including a package of bills known as "Making it Easy to Do Business in Rhode Island," aimed at

cutting red tape, and leading the successful drive to enact a package of 28 bills known as

"Moving the Needle"; and

     WHEREAS, President M. Teresa Paiva Weed's commitment to the community has

extended well beyond her service at the State House. She is also a member of a plethora of

business and professional organizations and has earned myriad honors including: being named a

National Legislator of the Year by MADD for her work in passing legislation enabling judges to

require drunk drivers use ignition interlock devices, being presented with the Susan L. Farmer

Award for her leadership for women and for her work in enacting temporary caregiver insurance,

and being named Woman of the Year by the Rhode Island Commission on Women, the Newport

Elks Lodge, Club Juventude Lusitana and The Portuguese American Citizens Committee of

Rhode Island. In addition, she received the Extraordinary Woman Award and has been

recognized by Housing First Rhode Island, Direct Action for Rights & Equality, Justice

Assistance, and the Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and many more recognitions,

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accomplishments and awards too numerous to mention; and

     WHEREAS, In addition to her dedication and long hours at the State House, but certainly

closest to her heart and vital in her life, President M. Teresa Paiva Weed is the loving mother of

Nicole Beede, the cherished daughter of Marie and Arthur Paiva, and was the devoted wife of the

late Mark Weed; and

     WHEREAS, Although diminutive in stature, President M. Teresa Paiva Weed's presence

on the podium engenders respect and trust from her fellow Senators, and her consensus-building

leadership as well as her optimistic and forward-thinking agenda have earned her inclusive

loyalty from her colleagues and constituents, and rendered the kind of positive changes in our

state that will enrich generations to come; and

     WHEREAS, With a quiet voice and a patient gavel, President M. Teresa Paiva Weed has

been a paradigm of the very best leadership qualities, and each and every Senator will miss her in

their own way for the special relationship she had with each of them. Whether there was a

celebration or tragedy in their personal life, she was always ready with a big hug, or would make

time to place a comforting phone call, or celebrate alongside each Senator. Oftentimes, from early

in the morning until late into the evening, she was on the phone, helping the economy by keeping

cell phone charging companies in business, although she quite often could have used a tracking

device for her cell phone charger … and her glasses; and

     WHEREAS, President M. Teresa Paiva Weed has presided over the Rhode Island Senate

with unsurpassed intellect, compassion and humor during endless long hours of consideration on

the hundreds of measures each year, and she will be greatly missed by the entire membership, the

Senate staff, and observers of the legislative process; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby extends its most heartfelt gratitude to the Honorable M. Teresa Paiva Weed for her service

to the Rhode Island Senate and the people of Rhode Island. We moreover wholeheartedly

congratulate her on becoming the first women to serve as President of the Hospital Association of

Rhode Island. We commend her on this richly deserved personal achievement and fervently hope

they have an endless supply of tea at the Hospital Association; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Honorable M. Teresa Paiva Weed.

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LC002294

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